A Christmas Story
by Clarra-Night
Summary: Loki and Thor go to Midgard to see Christmas Eve. Just a happy-go-lucky story of the two brothers.
1. Chapter 1

**This was an idea that I had on a little before Christmas day 2014, and didn't get around to writing it out properly until about now, so this may seem a bit late for a Christmas-themed story. But oh well. **

**The story will be in third-person perspective throughout, and is the result of my attempt at something lighthearted and fun to write (and fun to read, with any luck). ****It's set in Loki and Thor's adulthood days before Thor's disrupted coronation.**

**This chapter is from Thor's point of view. Enjoy! **

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><p>Thor saw the morning sun was smiling through the high, arched windows of the quiet chamber he strode into.<p>

The only shadow on the lit floors was a long dusky stripe, cast by the slight figure that hung in one of the windows like a pendulum, legs hooked over a ceiling rafter.

"Loki, I have an idea!"

The upturned figure peered around the dense book he had been absorbed in, fixing star-green eyes onto Thor's expectant smile. An upside-down beam was shone in return.

"This is wondrous news, Thor, truly. Did anyone else witness the spectacle? We must tell Father immediately, so he can begin preparing a speech for the celebratory banquets sure to follow! Meanwhile, Mother could – " Loki abruptly twisted away from the heavy swipe Thor had aimed at his younger brother's head.

When Loki straightened, like a wind chime that had been batted by a light breeze, Thor seized the thick tome from him and dropped it to the floor beyond Loki's reach, grinning.

"Shut up and listen. The Nine Realms have been peaceable as of late, and I've found that some day soon approaching on Midgard is one they call 'Christmas.' It's a day many humans celebrate, and since we have no foreseeable festivities here in Asgard, I think we should visit Earth for the prior day 'Christmas Eve' to join in the merriment."

Still upside-down, Loki tapped a long finger to his jaw thoughtfully. While Loki did, Thor saw an illusion of a pearl-grey lynx slink into existence on the windowsill behind his brother. It pawed at the sunlight and cast a graceful shadow. It still amazed him that fashioning an illusion could count as training, despite the lack of physical exertion.

"Hm. No, thank you. Hogun will dislike being there. Sif will want to arm herself, and someone hefting a spear _may_ be a little too conspicuous. Volstagg's appetite will plunge a small city into famine, and Fandral will try seducing anything pretty and with a pulse."

"Loki." Thor chided, then playfully swatted his hand through the image of the lynx basking on the sun-drenched window ledge. The lynx turned its moon-like eyes to him before dissipating in flickers of green light. "Then just the two of us should go!"

Loki raised his eyes from the last ghosts of the illusion. Something like surprise may have glinted in his expression, but Thor dismissed it as a trick of the light. There was a whisper of rustling black coattails as his brother promptly swung off the ceiling strut and tumbled neatly to his feet. When Loki straightened up, Thor saw a familiar, contagiously excited smile gleaming, and he tossed the book back to him.

Loki just let the novel sail over his shoulder, unceremoniously snapping his fingers. The book disappeared before it touched the wall, and Thor presumed it had gone to wherever his brother stored his books when he left on an expedition.

Loki adjusted his coat as he spoke next. "So, when do we start?"

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><p><strong>I hope this is going well enough so far. The next chapter will be up soon, and longer, and with an awful Christmas cracker joke!<strong>


	2. Chapter 2

**Ah, thanks a heap for proceeding to Chapter Two here! ^^**

**The city they visit is just a random fictional one, in an English-speaking place in the US with a snowy Christmas. The posters on the diner wall, with the "black-haired man flaunting spangled outfits and outlandish poses," are of Elvis Presley.**

**Lastly, the answer to the joke in the chapter below is ****_"No idea"_****, as in 'No-eyed deer.' When I first saw this joke ages ago in an old magazine, I thought it was the most ingenious one in the world. Anyway, read on!**

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><p>If Heimdall thought Thor's idea for their newest journey was childish, the Gatekeeper had not shown it, except for the slight pause before he consented to send them to Midgard. As if the two brothers had embarked upon a crucial mission, the gold eyes had remained so solemn in the gilded darkness of the Observatory and as the pair was inhaled into the tunnel of kaleidoscopic light. So it was nearly a surprise when they stepped out into a deserted alleyway of the snow-laden city they had chosen to visit – their senses were brushed by the playful chill in the winter air, by the mild afternoon sunlight that filtered through cottony clouds, and by the cheeriness of the town's clamour on the other side of the alley wall.<p>

From around the craggy corner of the brick wall, Thor could see into a store window opposite their lane. In it stood the mannequin of a rotund, jovial-faced man garbed in cheerful red and white, with black boots. A cornflower-blue signpost beside it proclaimed: _Free photos with Santa Claus inside! _What looked like street vendors selling hot, pungent food dotted the area visible to Thor, while families, couples and clusters of teenagers roamed about.

Face splitting with a grin, Thor began moving to the alley's opening, before he felt a thin hand tug on his arm.

"If we're to visit Midgard, we have to look the part." His younger brother raised his eyebrows at their dark-hued armour. They would stand out like falcons amidst a flock of pigeons. Thor's cape was like a splash of fresh blood against the crunching layer of downy snow beneath their feet.

Loki gestured casually at Thor, who looked down to see he was suddenly cloaked in softer Midgardian winter attire that was the blue of a gloomy lake. He looked up again and saw Loki buttoning up a long coat that was the shades of a storm cloud. A scarf, wine-red and woolen, was curled around his neck, and Thor could not keep himself from asking in mock accusation, "Brother, why do you get to wear red and I do not?"

Loki tweaked his new scarf. "Because this isn't like a war cape."

"But you just ridded my signature clothing, and with it my signature colour, so it's not right if you wear it instead."

"Thor, you don't _own _the colour red – "

"But I own my red cape, which you have just vanquished, and now – "

"Fine, you want to wear red? Here."

Thor looked down at himself again, then balked. Afterwards, it took some minutes for Thor to convince Loki to transform the flamboyant Santa Claus outfit back into his previous dark blue coat.

They slipped out surreptitiously into the bustling city square, Thor sporting a wine-red scarf and Loki winding a forest green one around his neck. A wide walkway paved with grey stone slabs stretched languidly before them, from left to right like a horizon. It was fringed by tidy, leafless trees and rows of squat, square buildings that varied vastly in cleanliness. The people also appeared to differ greatly in the stateliness of their manner and clothing. Thor was used to seeing the consistent grandeur of Asgardian composure, but here, the people were as assorted as the rainbow of flowers that dappled their mother's gardens at home.

A few humans wore pointed red hats with a furry white ball hanging from the tip, just like the Santa Claus mannequin he saw earlier in a store window. Many carried parcels bound with patterned paper and ribbons, bulging bags, and either hassled or gleeful expressions. Warmth wafted from everywhere but the winter air. From the strings of tiny iridescent lights lacing lampposts, from the sugary aromas floating from nearby street vendors, and from laughter that sounded like it came naturally from the people milling around.

"So this is Christmas" Loki said meditatively. Thor watched his emerald eyes absorb everything, even the spindly tree branches that looked like thin cracks in the sky behind them. Against Thor's face and neck, the air was as crisp and chilly as new icicles, and he wondered how Loki did not seem to feel the need to rub his bare hands together constantly to chase warmth into them. They began winding their way through the loose crowds.

Several minutes later, Thor waved towards several buildings that housed drinking customers. "Loki!" A passing group of teenagers glanced up at the unusual name. "Many of these buildings are alehouses, and I would gamble they've never had a son of Odin to measure up against in drinking. We should trial the beverages this city has to offer us."

His brother's hand firmly gripped his arm again, steering them past the series of taverns.

"Perhaps we should explore this place before doing anything that involves drinking alcohol around humans."

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><p>Thor approved of the noisy play area they passed. Hollering Midgardian children clambered and slid over bright blue and yellow plastic obstacles nailed to the ground. The sheer number of clothing stores that they bypassed amazed him; they all seemed to sell essentially the same type of garb. He was also less impressed by the small library he had to forcibly guide Loki past – he inwardly bet that his brother could read every book there before the sun went down, but he did not particularly want to wait that long while Loki did so.<p>

Thor thought they must have traversed through at least half the city when he decided to announce "Brother, hunger has been clawing at me for what feels like an age, so let's find a place to dine." He motioned towards the nearest block of eateries, from where the aromas of smoking oil, baking pastries and rich wine spilled out every time a door was opened.

"As you wish, but if you discover a nice drink and smash the glass against the floor, I'm letting you talk your own way out of it."

They eventually settled on a blue and white lunch diner that displayed on its windows many posters of a black-haired man flaunting spangled outfits and outlandish poses. Thor flung the diner's heavy glass doors open, to the complaints of the customers inside as a winter breeze swept in. As he entered, the air immediately turned warm and thick with the aroma of frying meat. He saw Loki behind him weaving out of the path of a tipsy middle-aged man who was trying to pat him on the cheek as he exited.

"Good afternoon, sirs." Thor turned. A young woman wearing black attire and a nametag ('Elle') smiled brightly at him from behind a bench. "Just help yourselves to any of the empty tables by the television area. A waiter will be right with you."

He let Loki lead the way to the most isolated table in the furthest corner, Loki discreetly pointing out to him the blaring rectangular windows that were probably the 'televisions.' Thor was soon sinking into a glossy, red leather chair beside Loki, who did not seem to make much of an indent in his.

The next quarter hour then included five mispronunciations of the menu options ("Okay, Thor, stop talking" Loki had said under his breath), a baffled but polite waitress, and Loki eventually choosing a dish at random for Thor so the waitress could leave before she began laughing.

Thor's plate was empty except for crumbs and a leftover sheen of oil ("Loki, do you not ever dine on anything more substantial than the cold air?" he had asked), and their almost-finished mugs of tea no longer let loose fragrant twists of steam.

Thor was in the middle of questioning the point of such a weak drink – it tasted practically of water, so why not just drink hot water instead? – when his eyes fell to something the waitress had placed between their mugs.

"What is this?" It was made of stiff, shiny gold patterned paper and reminded Thor of a giant type of wrapped sweet that Asgardian children sometimes ate.

Loki tilted his head at it. "The waitress said it was a complimentary 'Christmas cracker'. We're supposed to hold one end each, then quickly tug it apart. I saw other customers do it, and some tiny prizes fell out. It seems a little useless."

Thor grinned. "Well, we must try it, Brother, if we're to truly partake in the Christmas revelries. So these 'prizes' must go to the winner of this little tug-of-war?"

"Yes, although I doubt this is something worth being proud of winning."

After several attempts at pulling apart the Christmas cracker, it remained whole.

"It's because you cannot even hold onto it properly, Loki."

"It's not a contest of _speed_. It would work if you didn't try rip it away before my grip on it is firm enough, so I was trying for a count of three."

Thor shook the glossy paper tube. "I swear, if the two of us cannot even best this ridiculous cracker – "

He started as his brother suddenly nabbed the other end of the cracker and wrenched. A small _crack _exploded from the torn cylinder, and several tiny objects dropped to the waxy table surface. Loki scooped up a small rectangular card, some little multi-hued plastic animals that apparently had no function at all, and a roll of thin orange parchment. Thor saw the green irises of his eyes flit across the card, and Loki looked up at him earnestly.

"Thor, what do you call a deer with no eyes?"

In the following four seconds, Thor could not fathom what could be written on that card to make his brother ask him that, and with such solemnity. He blinked. "…What?"

Loki just waited, with the same serious air.

Thor felt he was probably missing something, and that the answer was something less literal than 'blind.' He also got the feeling his brother was actually veiling amusement beneath his expression, so he ventured forth warily.

"This is one question that I would leave unsolved. What _is_ a deer with no eyes?"

The grave expression did not drop, but Thor thought he saw a barely-there smirk touch the corner of his mouth before Loki said, "No idea."

This was simply raising more confusion than it was clearing. To Thor's mystification and somewhat annoyance, he could not coax an explanation from his younger brother for the next five minutes, while Loki only responded, "I want to see if you'll understand it yourself."

They agreed mutually to discard the little unusable toys fashioned like animals, then Loki unrolled the bundle of orange paper, shook it out, and presented to Thor the crude paper crown. He tucked over Thor's hair before Thor could protest, and it was suddenly and stubbornly fixed in place despite Thor's attempts to tear it off.

"You should wear it, if you really want to partake in these Christmas revelries, Thor" was all Loki commented.

Thor rolled his eyes towards the ceiling, and Loki cracked another smile.

"It's looks very fetching, Brother, I promise. If I had to choose someone in this place whom I had to be seen with, I would come _very_ close to choosing you."

"Shut up Loki."

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><p><strong>Although it may take a few days or so longer this time, the next chapter will be up later :) Leave a review and tell your thoughts on this so far? (Please)<strong>

**Also, I hope you like snowball fights.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Thanks for waiting for this next chapter :D I probably should have mentioned in the author's notes of the previous chapter that I'm away at a place with dodgy Internet connection, and found I couldn't post this chapter until now. Sorry :/**

**It's Loki's point of view for this part. This chapter was probably the second most fun for me to write out of this entire story (the one I liked writing most hasn't been posted yet).**

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><p>Outside the diner, the afternoon sun was softening, sending down its gentler warmth to envelope everyone who dwelled below. Loki was grateful it was winter – there was something therapeutic about the cold air brushing over him. It reminded him of once drowning in an insufferably intense fever, years ago. The only sensation that had given relief from the unyielding heat was Frigga or Thor pressing a cold towel against his neck, his cheeks, his forehead.<p>

They continued to thread between the bustling clusters of humans. The people here were distinctly less formal and graceful than on Asgard, and he was already quite used to the way humans seemed to often accidentally collide with each other and then hand out casual apologies.

As he and Thor walked, an elderly woman with a mild smile once thudded into Loki's side. Pretending to courteously accept her 'sorry, sweetheart!' and not notice her wizened hand slipping into his coat pocket, Loki stepped aside as she continued hobbling along. Under her own coat, she would be clutching what she thought was a sheaf of the Midgardian country's papery money. He glanced over his shoulder, and let the paper notes seamlessly morph into a fistful of fat, droning flies. He caught up to his brother's pace as he heard her appalled yelp fracture the air.

Eventually, the collections of buildings began melting away into neat, bare shrubbery and a wide stretch of flat, snow-crisped ground like a public play area. Every few paces, a crude snow fort stood either forlornly abandoned, or so crowded it was crumbling to white sand. Snowmen dotted the field like confused sentries, some half-finished, some faceless, some topped with a battered hat. Dozens of teenagers and children capered and flung snowballs, while parents appeared to be trying to record them with metallic hand-held devices, or anxiously supervise their respective child. Loki guessed that he and his brother would be hit more than a few times by misfired snow ammunition, but he did not worry about evading any – even a solid ice block would barely bruise either of them.

"Hey, look out!"

An ice-white stone flew between Thor and Loki's heads, before shattering into powder on the ground ahead of them. They turned as a young woman with untied brown hair and a flushed face hurried forward. She clasped her yellow-gloved hands together in mortification as they looked at her.

"I'm so sorry, guys, I really am, my little nephew's aim is terrible! He didn't hit either of you, did he? I'm so sorry if he did!" A short boy crouching behind her was fiddling with his bootlaces, avoiding looking up. Loki could sense radiating from the boy both embarrassment and irritation at his aunt's obsequious intervention.

Thor was already waving off her chagrinned apology. "You needn't worry, young maiden, it would not have hurt us too badly!"

The lady smiled like she was trying not to smile too broadly. Possibly because she was simply amused at being called a 'young maiden,' or perhaps something more to do with how she was staring up at Thor with idolising eyes. She brushed away a rebellious lock of hair playfully, only for it to come hang down twixt her wide eyes. Loki hid his face by pretending to adjust his scarf – it let him furtively force a laugh back down his throat.

"Don't be too harsh on your family members for slip-ups in sport," Chuckling, Thor then patted Loki's back, while Loki rolled his eyes at where his brother was leading the conversation. "Why, even now in adulthood, the countless times I've had to work with my brother's absence of athleticism – "

" – by utilising an absence of basic intelligence?" Loki murmured into his scarf, as the woman _aw-_ed and replied, "Well, don't worry, I love my nephew to bits, so no problems there. Are you two blood-related brothers?" Her eyebrows climbed up somewhat as she glanced between them. "You look practically nothing alike." He noticed that Thor also caught her eyes flicking towards Thor's brawny arms. Loki ducked his head to pretend to rearrange his scarf again.

He looked up as Thor glanced at him and said, "Yes, that's always been, well…" Loki quirked his head slightly as if to ask _so what's the end of that sentence?_

She was distracted as her nephew began pulling on her trouser leg. She sighed reluctantly before saying brightly to Thor, "I'll be going now, but it was nice meeting to you both. I'm sorry again though, about the snowball. Merry Christmas!" She hastened after the younger boy.

Once she was out of earshot, Loki blinked up at Thor naively. "Do you get the inkling she was quite drawn to you, Brother?"

Thor grinned. "Well, perhaps – "

"I'm beginning to wish we _had _brought Sif along with us. She would have adored that."

The grin quickly slid off. "Change the subject now."

Loki snickered. "Very well, then. I'll re-incite it later back home, when Sif's nearby." Suddenly, he glared at Thor in feigned outrage. "An 'absence of athleticism?'"

Thor's smirk returned. "Don't grumble, Loki, I know you could wield good enough skill on a battlefield, and it's not like you need to be strong enough to lift Mjolnir." He gestured at a toddler several feet away who was sheathed in an astounding number of wooly layers. "I think you display the same level of muscularity as that human there."

The toddler tripped over nothing, giggling as she fell.

"Oh look, and about the same level of agility too!"

"Hm, I've just remembered why I hate spending time in public with you, Thor, so I'm going to go stand somewhere else – "

Thor's laugh rang again from behind him as Loki began walking towards the most sparingly populated area of the park. He actually made it far enough to render Thor's brash laughter muted, before he felt a clump of wet snow explode against his back.

Icy water droplets trickled their way down his coattails. Then he felt an old childlike thrill slowly pulling his mouth into a smile. Moments later, he heard his brother's heavy footsteps crunching towards him from behind, and that familiar huff Thor gave when he thought Loki was being over-sensitive. He must have decided Loki was actually offended.

"Loki – "

_While he is still talking_

" – have a sense of humour – "

_Turn, aim, and_

Whump!

Thor's stubble suddenly had a sparkling white coating, and Loki could see surprise momentarily widen his blue eyes. Palms glistening with ice dust, he quickly crouched to shape another sphere while Thor blinked and wiped his face.

"I'm sorry, what were you saying?" Loki raised his eyebrows politely.

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><p>Some minutes later, Loki found himself sprinting across the frosty eiderdown that carpeted the town square, the ends of his scarf streaming out behind him and people laughing.<p>

Though a part of his mind wished there were not so many onlookers cackling at them, he reveled in how different their general reaction was to what a snowball fight would have elicited in Asgard – here, they were amused, in place of annoyed.

Thor's thunderous footsteps were gaining volume, and Loki envisioned Thor executing the step-and-throw manoeuvre he nearly always did to hurl Mjolnir forward. Loki also eyed the shining white expanse in front of him, and smiled widely. He dived to one side and looked up to see a snowball the size of his head sail through the space he had just been. Thor reached some paces ahead of where Loki had thrown himself down, then Loki grinned as Thor pivoted to face him with another globe of white.

The pivot made him slip and hit the ground, dispersing the snowball. Thor rose to his feet again quickly but his haste made his feet slide out from beneath him, and Loki bit the inside of his bottom lip to hold in the building mirth. Now on his stomach on the icy floor, Thor was eyeballing him with something torn between a glare and bafflement, which shattered Loki's composure.

Now they were both still on the ground, Loki hugging himself as he laughed too hard to even meet Thor's stare.

"Ice-skating rink" he managed to say, before another wave of hilarity took him. A cluster of teenagers wearing skates skimmed past Thor, giving him a wide berth. Some snickered, while the others stared at the two equally incapacitated men.

The expressions of people around them were a jigsaw puzzle of bewilderment, disapproval, but mostly amusement. Loki and Thor had to ignore them.

Many of Thor's rushed attempts to escape the slipperiness of the ice ground only coaxed him deeper into the rink, whilst completely silencing Loki with laughter. But eventually Thor, blond hair sodded with snow, was sitting on steadier ground beside his brother, who smiled up at him like Thor was just joining him for a picnic. Thor slowly turned a glare onto him that seemed to try light him on fire. Loki only blinked back.

"Really, Brother, what better time for me to use my 'tricks'?" He made his expression so innocent he knew it was unmistakably mischievous.

Thor scoffed. "You will not win a true battle with tricks, Loki."

"Well, you cannot seem to even win a snowball fight against me, so I'm not seeing how you have the right to – "

"You two from around here? You seem like you're new." A man with a brown coat and a cautious tint in his eyes stood before them. His nametag identified him as Andrew, the ice-skating rink's supervisor.

"We're just visiting." Loki answered.

"Do you behave like that in public often?"

"Not often." Thor said. "I usually defeat him."

"He likes to think that often." Loki added.

Andrew grunted, but a tiny smirk trapped the corners of his mouth briefly. "Just don't knock down any of the skaters." He sauntered away.

Loki peered up at Thor. "So what should we do next?" He asked happily. He could feel the icy snowflakes still sitting in his hair, not melting into it like the snow water that was starting to slick down Thor's hair.

"I'd much appreciate you using your 'tricks' to discretely dry all this melting snow off my garb," Thor wiped his wrist across his temples. "Then we're going to get out of here so these people stop chortling at me from behind their hands."

"Perfect idea." Loki dusted the fine constellations of white ice from his hair as he stood. "I can't wait to tell Mother and Father about this."

"Don't you dare."

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><p><strong>Okay, so this story isn't going to be as lengthy as I thought it would, in terms of the number of chapters, since here I'm breaking up the story into larger chapters than what I normally do. And my chapters I guess are not very long in comparison to other writers'. Anyway, the next chapter is also going to be the last, and I thank you guys for sticking to this for this long!<strong>

**So what did you think of chapter three?**


	4. Chapter 4

**Thanks again for reading 'til here ^^ Hope you enjoy this last part.**

**Back to Thor's POV for this. Sorry (or not) if you think their little exchange towards the end is a bit weird.**

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><p>Sunset was erasing the blue layer of the sky from the silhouetted horizon, revealing rosy shades that bled beneath. The throngs in the city had thinned considerably. The last of the people rushed past with arms burdened by bags and wrapped parcels.<p>

"Why are so many here hastening around bearing bought goods?" Thor stooped to pick up a clear bag holding a freshly purchased orange toy pony. He smiled and handed it back to the small girl who had dropped it after accidentally walking into his leg. She bared her teeth in a bright return smile and ambled on after her father.

"It's a custom for many in Midgard to give others gifts on Christmas day. Some may have procrastinated a little in attaining all the presents they'll give tomorrow." Loki was eyeing a gold and blue toy emporium a short while ahead, the sign above its glass doorway declaring it _Mister Knickerbocker's Knickknacks_. As they passed its large front windows, Thor saw inside many differently coloured and sized versions of the toy pony the small girl had dropped in front of him.

After another short span of companionable silence as they walked, Thor felt a leisurely yawn stretch his mouth open. He had not really noticed how dark the evening was turning, and remembered Loki told Frigga they would only be gone for the daytime. "We should call for Heimdall to open the Bridge soon, Brother. Christmas Eve is waning, and no doubt more duties are waiting for us back home." He let out an unenthusiastic huff at the latter reason.

Loki blinked. "You of all people are saying we should return home in order to do our chores? Was there something unusual in the food you ate in that dining house?"

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><p>The moment they stepped back into the auburn shadows of Heimdall's Observatory, the contrast of Asgard's rich air to the Earth city's winter one was almost palpable. The towers waiting at the other end of the glassy bridge glittered proudly in welcome, and Thor was pleased to hear his cape snapping mutedly in the wind.<p>

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><p>Thor massaged the grey bruise surfacing on his shoulder from the training hours with Sif and Fandral he had just finished.<p>

Though he agreed that Loki certainly needed more battle practice with their friends, he was glad his little brother had not joined him for this latest session. It gave Thor a chance to dash to his room and fish out the brown box he had been keeping there.

Hopefully it had _looked _enough like it was supposed to be hidden. For the past century, Thor had not genuinely bothered trying to hide anything he had not wanted Loki to find. He had realised a few years ago that any object he tried to conceal, in his bedchambers or otherwise, Loki would discover it if (when?) he discerned that Thor was secreting something away. Last year, Thor had realised that Loki would not pry any further than simply discovering the location of the item if it were apparent Thor wanted it kept hidden.

The falling sun could be seen nearly kissing the horizon, through the tall windows of the quiet chamber he entered. Loki was there, pacing silently across the floor as an ash-black silhouette against the dusky orange light of sundown. Thor saw a sphere of cold light hovering between his palms. It looked like Loki's concentration was closing his green eyes, but Thor guessed Loki already knew he was being observed.

Thor watched as Loki began to shape the orb of light – lengthening it, sharpening it, until it was more like a curved knife blade. Its edge was now like a thin smile. "Brother, if this dagger were to part your skin now, there would suddenly be not much left of you afterwards" he said to Thor over his shoulder.

Abruptly, Loki rubbed his hands together as if they were cold, and the bright dagger dissipated. Threads and wisps of light vanished into the air, between his slender fingers, up his dark sleeve cuffs.

"But what good is that magic act in a fight if it takes you so long to ready the blade?" Thor preferred seeing the steely sheen of solid daggers in his brother's hands.

"I was just perfecting the shape." Loki smiled with more sharpness than the knife. "In combat, believe me, I'll be faster."

"Well." Still, his brother should harness more reliable weapons too. Loki then looked at him like he was about to say something, but with a gleam of excitement, Thor remembered why he was there.

"Loki!" Thor brandished the box that he had been holding behind his back. "I have a Christmas gift for you."

Two days ago, the palace's library hands had tried to veil their curiosity at the oldest prince demanding for an empty paper casket that was used to package books for deliveries. Thor was proud he had even managed to persuade Frigga to give him a long silver ribbon with which he tied around the box containing Loki's present.

Smiling hugely, he watched his younger brother take the box into his pale hands, slowly, carefully, like it was an injured hatchling bird. Loki was wearing his thoughtful expression – the one that Thor usually saw on his face as Loki lingered over a particularly curious act of magic-use, or a chapter in a giant library volume, or when they stood as children in the gardens to select flowers to pick for their mother.

Thor's grin grew so wide it was hurting his cheeks, as Loki extracted the contents of the box and stared at it for a long moment.

"Faeomin."

Loki looked up at Thor. His pupils were dilating so his irises were more black than green. "You're giving me back Faeomin?"

The old stuffed toy was shaped like no particular creature – two rounded bear-like ears, four limbs without knees or elbows, a long downy tail – and still soft, still cloud-white.

"Can you recall that day you started going without Faeomin?" Thor knew, with a stirred feather of sheepishness, that Loki would recollect it perfectly. He and Loki, as very young boys, had fallen into such a stubbornly furious argument (about what exactly, Thor could not remember) that Thor had decided to steal Loki's stuffed plaything, Faeomin, and hide it away. Loki had not yet gained the shrewd knack for finding things like his older self. He had spent weeks afterwards wonderingly searching, not earnestly considering that his older brother would have gone so far as to take it.

Thor had meant to return Faeomin to him after only a few days – a midnight shortly after the dispute, Loki had darted into Thor's room muttering something about a bad dream, and how could Thor stay angry at him then? – but then realised that he himself could not remember where he had stashed the toy. Thor had only rediscovered Faeomin, buried deeply, after their recent return from Midgard as he searched for a Christmas present to give to his brother.

In front of him now, Loki was gently waving Faeomin's boneless limbs around like he were checking his childhood plaything still recognised him. His eyes were snow-bright, soft. A small smile on his lips. "For some reason, back then I never thought _you _were the reason Faeomin went missing."

Thor shifted shamefacedly, before saying, "Well, I only hope the novelty of having a stuffed toy has not worn off for you yet."

Loki lifted Faeomin to sit behind his neck, like it was hitching a ride on his shoulders. "I guess it hasn't."

"But Sif, Hogun, Fandral and Volstagg will probably laugh at you if you walk around like that."

"That's fine by me."

"Father may disown you."

"I'll just tell him about our snowball fight on Earth."

Thor was about to reply when his brother suddenly plucked from the windowsill behind him a lumpy package that Thor could have sworn was not there when he had first entered. "Now your turn."

Beaming, Thor took the parcel, which was as big as Loki's entire torso. It was much lighter and softer than its size suggested, like a large feather pillow. Too impatient to guess at it, Thor ripped off the wrapping, and stared at what was inside. It ogled up at him with shining black eyes. Thor laughed, turning the purple pony doll around in his calloused hands, its legs and tail drooping to the floor.

"Do you like it?" His brother was smiling expectantly, like he was being serious.

Thor laughed again. "It's a delightful jest, Loki. No doubt I shall cherish it evermore."

But he saw his little brother's smile drop slightly. "… Oh…" Loki said, looking away.

Thor blinked again. In slight disbelief. "... But truly, it's a nice colour choice, Loki, and the fabric is, uh – "

Then Loki's abrupt laugh was like a whip crack, as he pressed a second, smaller and more rectangular parcel into Thor's hands, taking the pony to place on the windowsill. "Brother, if I had really wanted to give you a colourful toy foal, I would have at least chosen the red one."

Thor snorted. "Stop it." He unwrapped the new gift, which felt as if it were of thick, hardwearing fabric. He held it out before him, and saw a long coat. One that would fit in well on Midgard, though its style held subtle similarities to Asgardian attire. And it was a dark blood red.

"There, now you can wear your _signature _colour whenever you go to Midgard without me." Loki was saying.

When Thor lowered the coat to thank him, Loki unexpectedly stepped forward and latched himself around Thor's shoulders in a brief, tight hug, his finger tips just managing to meet together behind his older brother's back. Thor moved aside Faeomin's ear to lightly touch the top of Loki's head.

"Merry Christmas, Brother."

* * *

><p><strong>Finished.<strong>

**I'll be glad if you enjoyed the story as much as I enjoyed writing it. Could you leave a review (please) to let me know what you thought of this last chapter/the story in general?**

**This is seriously late, but I also hope you had a good 2014 Christmas too :)**


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